Escutcheon plate for door locks



Jan. 7, 1958 R. J. OHNO 2,818,724

ESCUTCHEON PLATE FOR DOOR LOCKS Filed Sept, 28, 1955 United States Patent ESCUTCHEON PLATE FOR DOOR LOCKS Richard J. Ohno, Branford, Conn., assignor to Sargent &

Company, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application September 28, 1955, Serial No. 537,235

4 Claims. (Cl. 70-452) This invention relates to door escutcheons and more particularly to an escutcheon element or plate for use with door locks to provide an ornamental trim assembly for use with a door knob.

As shown, the escutcheon assembly is employed with a socalled tubular lock although it will be understood that it may be employed with other types of door locks or latches.

In the use of door locks and latches operated by a knob or some other manually actuatable member, an ornamental trimming is usually employed about the door knob such, for example, as the ordinary rose or an escutcheon plate. The present invention relates to ornamental trimming of this character which is novel in form and which will present an improved appearance and will enhance the appearance of the knob and associated mechanism.

As illustrated the escutcheon'assembly consists of two parts, namely an escutcheon member consisting in this instance of a pronged element having radial arms projecting from a central hub portion which embraces the knob shank or bearing member in which the shank rotates, and 'in addition a rearwardly disposed platemember which is held in place by the pronged element previously described. This plate element is readily removable and is usually provided with ornamental characteristics. Such plates may be differently ornamented so that any one of them may be employed with the pronged escutcheon member depending upon the desire of the user.

As previously stated, this plate is held in place by the prong member so it is only necessary to remove the latter in order to employ a rear plate of another design.

One object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved escutcheon plate.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved escutcheon assembly consisting of an inner platelike element and an outer pronged element which serves to hold the plate element in place and which outer element will be so constructed that portions of the inner platelike member will be exposed between the prongs of the outer element.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a two-part escutcheon assembly consisting of an inner plate member and an outer pronged element which serves to hold the inner plate member in place, the outer pronged element in turn being secured upon a portion of the lock housing whereby the inner plate element may be clamped between the rear edge of the outer element and the face of the door.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a door provided with an escutcheon assembly embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the inner plate member of disklike form; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

e To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown in the drawings a portion of a door 10 having a lock or latch mechanism mounted therein which in this instance is shown as consisting of a tubular case 11 in which the bolt 12 is slidably mounted and an aligning tube 13 through which the rear edge of the case 11 extends. The aligning tube is provided with reduced end portions or sleeves which are threaded as shown at 14 and 15. Inner and outer knobs 16 and 17 are rotatably supported in the sleeves 14 and 15 as is usual.

At the inner side of the door is shown a rose 18 of usual form which may be clamped against the inner surface of the door by the collar 19 threaded upon the sleeve 14.

The improved escutcheon assembly is shown as mounted at the outside of the door and comprises an inner dislike member 20 (Figs. 1 and 3), which member is provided with an opening 21 so that it may be slipped over the sleeve 15 and positioned flatwise upon the face of the door. This member, as shown, is flat upon both faces and may, if desired, be ornamented in any way so as to present an attractive appearance. For example, portions of the member between the inner opening and the outer periphery may be cut away in various patterns so that the member will present an ornamental appearance and a user may, of course, select a preferred pattern.

The escutcheon assembly also includes a pronged element which, as illustrated, comprises a central hub portion 23 and a plurality of radially extending prongs or arms 24, 25 and 26. This element has substantial depth' or thickness, as shown in Figs..2 and 4, and although shown as a hollow sheet metal member, may be made of solid form, if desired. It is provided with a central opening 27, the edge of which is rotatably received in a recess 28 of a collar 29 which is threaded upon the sleeve 15 of the aligning tube 13.

With this construction it will be apparent that before the knob 17 is in place, the collar 29 carrying the pronged escutcheon member may be threaded onto the sleeve 15 so as to force the escutcheon member rearwardly against the disklike member 20 to clamp both members against the face of the door and hold them securely in place.

The rear edges of the prongs 24, 25 and 26 may be slightly dished, as indicated at 30 in Fig. 2, so that these edges may overlie the face of the disklike member 20 and at the same time the outer edges of the pronged elements may fit snugly against the face of the door, as indicated at 31.

With the above construction, it will be apparent that I have provided a distinctly useful and ornamental escutcheon member in the form of the pronged element which is of an ornamental and distinctive appearance. Moreover, the inner disklike plate member 20 serves to enhance this appearance and the two parts together provide an exceptionally ornamental and attractive'trim for the door lock. In addition, as the plate 20 is provided in diversely ornamented forms, a purchaser may have a considerable choice by merely selecting differently ornamented disklike members for use with the pronged element. As the inner disklike member 20 may be detached from the outer pronged element, the use of any one of a number of different disklike elements with the pronged element is facilitated.

As illustrated, the disklike member 20 is held against the face of the door by the rear edges of the prong escutcheon element. It may, however, if desired, be secured separately to the door by nails or screws passing therethrough and the pronged element secured in place thereafter. Also, if desired, the disklike member may be interlocked with the rear edge of the pronged element so that the two members may be mounted together. In any case the slight. dishing of the rear edges of the pronged element, as shown at 30, will assure positive pressure at the tips against the door so as toprevent turning of the element from its initial position.

While I' have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A door lock escutcheon plate assembly for attachm'ent to the surface of a door, said assembly comprising a pronged element having a hub portion provided with a central opening and a plurality of pronglike members extending radially outward from said hub portion, a disklike member rearwardly of said hub portion and disposed against the face of the door at the rear face of said element, said disklike member being of greater diameter than the hub portion of the pronged element so as to be exposed between the prongs of the latter, and the rear edges of the prongs of said pronged member, being dished outwardly to overlie said disklike member and permit the ends of the prongs to lie in close contact with the face of the door.

2. In combination, a door lock casing having a sleeve portion projecting from the surface of a door, an inner ornamental disklike member having a central opening through which said sleeve portion is received to mount said member against the face of the door, and an outer pronged element removably secured to said sleeve, the rear face of said pronged element abutting the face of the disklike member, said pronged element having a. hub portion and radially extending prongs between which the surface of the disklike member is exposed, and said disklike member being of greater diameter than the hub portion of the pronged element so as to be exposed between the prongs of the latter.

3. In combination, a door lock casing having a sleeve portion projecting from the surface of a door,'an inner ornamental disklike member having a central opening through which said sleeve portion is received to mount said member against the face of the door, and an outer pronged element removably secured to said sleeve, the rear face of said pronged element abutting the face of the disklike member to clamp the latter against the face of the door, said pronged element having a hub portion and pronglike members extending radially therefrom between which the surface of the disklike member is exposed, and the rear edges of the prongs of said pronged element being dished outwardly to overlie said disklike memberwhile permitting the ends of the prongs to lie in close contact with the face of the door.

4. In combination, a door lock casing having a sleeve portion projecting from the surface of a door, an inner ornamental disklike member having a central opening through which said sleeve portion is received to mount said member against the face of the door, and an outer pronged element removably secured to said sleeve, the rear face of said pronged element abutting the face of the disklike member to clamp the latter against the face of the door, said pronged element having a hub portion with a central opening therein, a collar threadedly secured to said sleeve portion and provided with a recess in which the edge of said opening is rotatably received, and said disklike member being of greater diameter than said hub portion so as to be exposed between the prongs of the pronged member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Merriam et al July 29, 1873 Wardwell, Jr June 2, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES 

